While not surprising to Harrod, the fact that the society is guided by women is still noteworthy.

“We go to events or talk to freshman girls who are interested in engineering and might not be in the College of Engineering,” she said. “They might be in Arts and Science or CALS, where they don’t necessarily see a lot of female engineers … . You can go to them and say, ‘Yes, as a woman, you can do this.’”

Harrod said the chapter brings members together as a community, keeps them informed about what’s going on in the department and advocates on their behalf.

Another big piece is outreach, she said.

“We’re also going into the community and talking about science and research, and having conversations about what recent developments in science and engineering mean for the average person,” Harrod said.